


Reflections From The Top Of The World

by athingofvikings



Series: Reflections [1]
Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Kissing, Mild Angst, Post-Canon, Relationship Talks, Ruminations on where half-elves come from, Spoilers for Season 3, The chemistry between these two dorks is great
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:14:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21736642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/athingofvikings/pseuds/athingofvikings
Summary: The battle is over, the villains (seemingly) vanquished, and the day is won.  It's time for Callum and Rayla to rest and ponder where their relationship is going, and their future together.
Relationships: Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince)
Series: Reflections [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1573198
Comments: 56
Kudos: 238





	Reflections From The Top Of The World

**Author's Note:**

> So this plot bunny bit me after I finished watching season 3 for The Dragon Prince. It was originally supposed to be pure fluff, and the angst just seeped in. But I so adore these two dorks and their mutual admiration and infatuation.

Quietly, Rayla walked through the room, letting her fingers drag over the surfaces. 

It was less dusty than one might have expected for a room that had sat abandoned for four months, but given that it was at the top of the Storm Spire, above the clouds, there just might not have been that much _dust_ to begin with. 

She shook her head at the absurd thought.

“You all right?” Callum asked behind her.

“I’m all right,” she said, looking through the room. Her parents’ room.

The Dragon Guard had their own quarters, carved out of the spire’s stone, enough for them to have a place to stay and live. It wasn’t much—just some bedrooms for the eight of them, storage, and a kitchen—but it had been her parents’ home before the dark mage had arrived for the first time, after killing Avizandum. And the bedroom wasn’t much either. Just a bed, neatly made, a pair of bare armory stands for their gear, and a small chest for their belongings. That lay open and ransacked. If she had to guess, the mage had gone through it to see if there was anything of worth to him to take back to that creepy room under Katolis’ castle where he’d kept the egg. 

Gently, she knelt and picked up a necklace that had been tossed aside. 

“This was my mother’s,” she said softly. “I guess Viren didn’t see it as worth his while.”

She felt Callum’s hand on her shoulder. He said nothing, but she leaned into his solid support before getting back to see what was left of her parents.

It wasn’t much. Some keepsakes, some minor weapons and tools, and little else. Anything that might have been enchanted was gone.

She slumped onto her ankles. “He took it.”

“What did he take?” Callum asked softly.

“Ethari enchanted a memory stone for us before they left,” she said softly.

“A memory stone?”

She bit her lip, trying to think of how to explain it. “Just a bauble, really, but it’s a small gem that, when you hold it, it shows an illusion-picture of what it stored. And it had me and my parents together.”

Callum was quiet for a moment and then asked softly, “When did they leave?”

“When I was little,” she said softly. 

She heard him open his sketchbook and _hmm_ in thought for a moment. Barely daring to hope, she hopped to her feet. Turning, she peered over his shoulder to find a sketch already in progress.

Heart bursting, she offered suggestions. “My horns were a little shorter, and my hair was longer.” 

“Right, right. And I’m sure you weren’t throwing your assassin knives around either,” he said, still sketching. “With you at that size, they’d be more like swords.”

She snickered. “Aye!”

“I can hear your parents now. ‘Come back here with that, young lady! That is not a toy!’” Callum said, still sketching, and then paused. “What _do_ they give young Moonshadow assassins as toys?”

With as innocent a look as she could manage, she said, “Stabbing dummies. Toy swords. Stuff like that.”

He gave her a sidelong look. “I don’t know if you’re joking or not.”

She grinned. “That would be telling, now, wouldn’t it?”

“Now I’m picturing hide-and-seek during the full moon,” he said, sketching in some of the details.

“It’s great fun!” she commented. “And you have to stay really still, or you’ll get caught.” The thought started to make her think of the Silvergrove, and her smile started to falter, but he turned his book around at that moment, presenting her with the page he’d been drawing on. “Here, love.”

She took the book with the sketch of her parents playing with her, her father tossing her in the air, with her hands shaking. It wasn’t exactly the same, but it was enough—and it was symbolic of their new family together. Elves drawn by a human. 

Setting the book aside, she kissed him and he kissed back. “I love you,” she said softly after they broke the kiss. 

He smiled, and leaned against her. “Love you too,” he said, and kissed her again.

Rayla had to stifle a giggle that threatened to bubble up from inside. She knew that she was acting like a besotted fool, and she didn’t really care. So _this_ was love. Being with someone who knew you and respected you and treated you as a friend, who would risk their life for you, and who being around was a joy.

She ran her hands through his hair and experimented a little with how to kiss; she could tell that they were both still clumsy, and she was aiming to get better at it, like how she would with anything else.

He blinked as she played with his lip and broke the kiss. “What was that?”

She smirked. “Practice. You want to get good at something, you got to practice.”

He blinked again. “Oh. Ohhh. Well, all right then,” he said and planted his lips right back on hers. 

Finally, though, when both of them were breathing heavily from the kissing she broke away. It was funny; you would have thought she’d run a few miles instead of ‘just’ kissing, from the way she was panting for air and how her heart was racing. Bracing her hand on his shoulder, she said, glancing at the bed, “And I hate to be the responsible one right now, but we should get to sleep.” 

Callum swallowed, his breath coming just as fast as hers. “Yeah, yeah. Sleep. Right. Sleep is good.”

She nodded, trying to steady her breathing. Sleep was actually why they’d come in here in the first place. Thanks to Viren having his army march to the Spire and leave all of their gear behind, and the Sunfire elves having rushed to get to the Spire ahead of the altered humans, there was a lack of bedding and food for everyone down at the base of the giant rock. So they’d given up their bedding for someone else, and would instead be sleeping in an actual bed for the first time in a month.

Together.

Sitting down on the bed, she took another deep breath, and felt herself calm. As Callum sat down as well, she sighed and yawned, and then, catching his eye, she smirked.

“What?” Callum asked from next to her as he took off his boots.

“I was just thinking that if we see Nyx again, we can tell her that we just need the one bedroll,” she said, waggling her eyebrows.

Callum blushed and grinned before saying awkwardly, “I… uh… I did want to say that I’m not expecting…”

“Sex?” she replied, feeling her own face flush slightly. “Callum, I love you, but you’re getting a _bath_ first before we do _anything_ more than holding hands and kissing. So am I.” She remembered how his scarf had practically qualified as a weapon when they’d been facing Sol Regem, and they’d done a _lot_ of crazy stuff since then. Honestly, it gave her new appreciation for the power of the Silvergrove’s illusions, given that nobody there had _smelled_ them.

“O-okay then,” he said, running his hand through his hair in that adorable way of his. “Baths. Yeah, we need those.”

“Just sleep,” she said softly. “It’s been a long day.”

He snorted lightly as he laid back on the mattress, arms crossed under his head. “Yeah, with the big battle against an army of darkness, a showdown with an evil mage, you leaping to your death—”

“And you leaping after me,” she said, remembering that awful moment when she’d seen him plummeting after her, just out of reach. 

“And the Dragon Queen waking up,” he finished. “Yeah, I don’t think sleep will be a problem.” He put his head down on the pillow and closed his eyes.

With a smile, Rayla looked at him as he started to drift off to sleep, and put her head down on her own pillow.

But sleep came slowly, her thoughts running around in circles in her head, remembering the day. The Dragon Queen was awake and Zym was back with her. And she approved of the humans in the Spire, which was honestly surprising. Not that Rayla was complaining! But the Queen had every reason not to want humans in her home.

Rayla sighed and bit her lip at the thought. So she’d succeeded at her self-imposed mission… after she’d failed the mission she’d actually volunteered for. 

No.

She hadn’t _failed_ that mission.

She’d _sabotaged_ it. For the best of reasons after she’d seen the egg, but even before then, she’d endangered them all because she’d spared that guard. And then…

She remembered with a touch of sensation, how the band had felt when it had released on Harrow’s death.

His _pointless_ death. 

And then Viren had stepped into power…

She remembered standing at the base of the Spire, looking up at the body of the Dragon King, petrified, one claw outreached. She could only hope that Callum was right with what he’d said when they’d stood there—that they could end this.

Argh.

Who was she kidding? The elves didn’t all get along either. It wasn’t like her people were assassins as a hobby—or that the Silvergrove was hidden from outsiders, including other elves, for fun!

But she could hope. Hope that with the backing of the Dragon Queen, they might be able to stop it all. Maybe she could go _home._

That made her pause again.

Would her own people approve of having Callum with her in their home?

She winced as the next thought occurred to her.

Would they even approve of _her_ being in the Silvergrove? Like it or not, the other five from her team were dead _because of her_ and her act of mercy. And while, if not for that, Zym’s egg would still be in the hands of Viren—or worse… it was still a lot to forgive. And while Zym was home and King Harrow was dead… would they be able to forgive her for that? 

And even if they could forgive _her,_ how would they react to having Callum there?

She groaned at the thought, and Callum mumbled slightly in his sleep, making her quiet herself—which seemed to make the thoughts spin up into even more agitation. 

A _human_ in the Silvergrove would be bad enough; she knew that her people didn’t trust them… and the fact that he was tainted, however slightly, by Dark Magic, would _not_ help matters. Even though he’d done it to save her life.

But a human with an Arcanum? An Arcanum that wasn’t the Moon?

Yeah, that would go over _so_ well.

She bit back another groan and flopped onto her back, looking up at the ceiling. And having him as a boyfriend… and then more? Because, being honest, she did want that, someday. But the fact that she’d never even _heard_ of an elf with a human lover didn’t help. She didn’t even know if the parts lined up—although, from what she had learned, that was really the least of her concerns. Runaan and Ethari seemed to have been happy enough…

She winced.

Aye. How could she look Ethari in the face again, with his husband dead because of her, and her bringing a human home with her?

“Hey, Ethari, so… I know that Runaan is never coming back, but… can Callum and I stay here with you in my old room?” she whispered, and then winced. No, no, no…

But that wasn’t even the biggest problem. There would be people accusing him of having stolen his magic, stolen his connection to his Arcanum, and afraid that he’d do it to them. “Because that’s what a human with magic means, right?” she whispered sarcastically to the ceiling. “Dark Magic. Stolen magic. Magic taken from blood and death. Never an actual connection to the Arcanum, no, of _course_ not! Don’t be _silly._ Doesn’t matter that he’s actually doing it right and everything, no, can’t let the truth get in the way of what ‘ _everybody knows…’”_

She scoffed angrily and bit her lip. While there might, _might_ be a home for _her_ in the Silvergrove again now that Zym was home…

There wouldn’t be one for _them._ No, while it wouldn’t be as violent or fast as what they’d experienced in that town from the humans chasing them out and up the Caldera, the welcome in Silvergrove would be just as warm for a disgraced elf and her human mage boyfriend. They’d already ghosted her, after all.

And she could say with complete honesty that she’d rather give up her home than give up Callum. 

So the Silvergrove was out for them. 

And that was a hard admission to make. She’d…

She’d fooled herself, really, just as thoroughly as Lujanne could have with her magic. But this had been even better, because she’d done it to herself. She’d had her illusions that, _of course,_ as soon as her people would have seen Zym, they would forgive her and everything would be back to normal. But now, with the cold bucket of water of that ghosting hitting her… no. They would _never_ accept a human mage in their midst, not just for her. She had to admit that… for his sake. Just like she’d needed to be realistic about the dangers to Zym and to Ez, she had to admit that her own people would hate Callum.

Maybe she… _they_ could stay here, at the Spire? Have her and Callum take her parents’ place in the Dragon Guard? That might work. Or maybe they could go to the human lands? Ez would be king, after all, and she could help keep the peace by helping represent Xadia… although she could only hope that the humans in the city would be more welcoming than the ones that had chased them out; hopefully being paired with the king’s brother would help? But she and Janai could work together on helping keep the peace. 

She bit back a laugh, afraid of waking Callum, who was slumbering peacefully, and instead reached out to gently stroke his cheek. Seeing Janai and Amaya being affectionate was the funniest thing—and she so very much had to talk with Janai on these questions, come to think of it. Wasn’t Janai going to be the new queen of the Sunfire Elves after Viren had killed her sister? So maybe Amaya would stay in Xadia with her while she went with Callum to Katolis. That might work…

Yes, she’d be giving up a lot… but she’d made an oath to give her heart for Xadia back before this had all started. And…

She twisted to look at her boyfriend and smiled.

And she arguably had. Only to have her heart returned, with interest.

Besides, he could fly now. Maybe they could come back every so often? 

That part still made her pause.

He could fly.

He’d jumped after her and done a spell that only a few Skywings were even able to _learn_ , literally _on the fly._ After doing magic for only about a _month._

She was no mage, but part of her was wondering what he would do next, how many rules he would break and how many hidebound old elves would get angry about it. It would be worth seeing, that was for sure! She still regretted not getting to see the look on Ibis’ face when he’d done magic right in front of him when he’d be dismissing the thought of a human mage. Callum’s description had been _hysterical._

_He had this look on his face that was half ‘Oh crap’ and half ‘What was in that drink?’_

She snickered. Honestly, between him and his brother, they were breaking _all_ of the rules. There were some Xadian animals she was suddenly eager to introduce Ez to, just to see him talk to them. 

She stroked Callum’s cheek fondly. To think that it had all started because she’d let that one guard get away.

Well, no. That was the thing that had led to everything else. But then she’d chosen to go on ahead, and, well…

A small part of her suddenly couldn’t resist the image anymore, and she asked in a singsong voice, “‘Mama, how did you and Papa meet?’” She shifted slightly. “Well, I chased him through the castle and tried to kill him…” she ‘replied’ softly, smirking, and shook her head. Well, they’d be breaking rules there, too, if _that_ ended up happening. Did she dare even imagine it more than just a joke to herself? 

She groaned, _that_ thought spinning off in myriad directions, and tried to get it to stop. She didn’t even know if it was _possible_ for them to actually _do_ anything that could get her pregnant, and she was already imagining the possible fate of a child? Stop, stop, stop… she needed _sleep._ Callum was sleeping peacefully and—

Next to her, he suddenly snorted—and then his face contorted in fear.

She blinked, but before she could react more to the sudden chance of expression, his lips opened and he started gasping and screaming softly.

Without hesitation, she reached over and started to shake him. “Callum, wake up! You’re having a nightmare!”

His eyes popped open and an instant later her arms were full of shaking human. “Oh thank you thank you thank you…” he stammered, cold sweat dripping from his skin. 

“What happened?” she asked, gently patting his back.

“I… I didn’t catch you,” he said softly.

Understanding came instantly, and she pulled him tight. “You did. It was just a nightmare. You caught me.” Shaking, he clung to her, with her stroking his back. “It’s okay.”

He calmed down slowly, and said softly, “I don’t ever want to lose you.”

She kissed his forehead. “You won’t.”

After another pause, he said quietly, “I don’t want to go back to sleep just yet.”

“Don’t blame you,” she replied. “Want to talk?”

“Please,” he said. “Anything. I don’t want to go back into that dream.”

She considered, but all of the thoughts that she’d been having before seemed to have vanished into hiding. Then she was hit by one.

“Tell me about your home.”

“What, Katolis?” he asked, surprised.

She nodded. “I didn’t see too much of it.”

“Understandable,” he deadpanned. “I can see the assassin guidebook entry now. ‘Katolis. Human kingdom. Major sights include castles, dark mages, and secret tunnels marked by jelly tart handprints.’”

She laughed.

He smiled and continued. “‘Also rivers and waterfalls and welcoming townsfolk so long as you have five fingers.’”

“Don’t forget the big fish that eat boats!” she added, and they laughed.

“And the Moon mage who likes eating bugs,” he commented.

“Nah, she’s in the pamphlet, not the guidebook,” she said with a smirk. “How else are you going to surprise people when you take them up the path of the ‘Cursed Caldera’?”

They giggled together and she stroked his hair. “When we go back, I want to get a proper tour.”

He blinked. “Wait, ‘when we go back’?” he echoed.

“Aye. Think about it. Do you see my home being welcoming to you, _human mage,_ or to me, _cowardly assassin?_ ”

He blinked again. “Ohhh.”

“At least in Katolis, I’d be, um, _with_ the brother of the king,” she said firmly. 

He stared. “I… um… you thought on this a lot.”

“While you were asleep,” she said with a nod. “So, what do you say? Is there room in your place back in Katolis for an elven assassin girlfriend?”

He laughed. “Yup, I’d say there is. Do you want Ez’s room?”

She entwined her feet with his. “Why would I, when we can… _share?_ ”

His eyes went wide, and she could practically hear his thoughts as they ran off in all directions, and his cheeks flushed even harder.

She let him imagine that for a few moments before mischievously commenting, “So? What do you think?”

He swallowed and grinned so widely it looked almost painful, before saying, “I like your way of thinking. I don’t see a problem with… _sharing._ ”

“Good.” Another kiss, and deeper this time, and while they didn’t do anything beyond that, it was still enough to make them both smile like loons when they were done. Some shifting afterwards and they were cuddled together like nested spoons, his back against her chest, her arms around his, and this time, finally, sleep came for both of them. 


End file.
